Spider Activities

In this Wondrous Webs activity, you'll learn to take cool and spooky pictures of the webbed traps spiders use to catch their prey!

What You'll Need:

Spiderwebs

Misting bottle

Camera

1. Find a spiderweb. Look carefully; they may be hard to see. Sometimes you can see them more easily in the morning because they have dew on them. Use your misting bottle to set a fine water mist on all parts of the web. This will help you see the web better. Notice the pattern of the web. Spiderwebs may be creepy killing machines, but they are also beautiful works of architecture.

2. Take a photograph of the web. The sun is best for this in the morning and evening. Try to stand so that the sun is behind you, lighting up the web. Don't let your shadow fall on the web.

3. Take photographs of other webs. Compare the different patterns. Make a photographic display showing the different webs. You might also try to use black-and-white film instead of color; black-and-white will give an eerie look to your photo­graphs and help the webs stand out.

4. Now, have some fun and give your photos an offbeat look. Cut out a small picture of a person from a newspaper. Put the cut-out person on the spider-web. Because newspaper is thin, the web should hold a small picture. Take a black-and-white photograph of your web as if a person was caught in it!

What Happened?

Spiderwebs come in a variety of forms. The pattern depends on the species of spider and where the web is being made. Garden spiders make orb webs, usually shaped in circles or ovals, but other types of spiders make webs in all sorts of strange and scary designs. All of them are constructed mostly to help spiders trap insects.

If you enjoyed taking pictures of spiderwebs, go to the next page and learn how to preserve a spiderweb.